Method, device, and system for regulating power consumption

ABSTRACT

A method, device and system for regulating power consumption are provided in the embodiments of the present invention. A method for regulating power consumption includes: obtaining, by a base station, an application point and a configuration parameter; sending, by the base station, an indication message to a terminal according to the application point and configuration parameter; regulating, by the base station, the power consumption of the base station by using the configuration parameter at the application point; the configuration parameter comprises cell antenna information or system bandwidth information; the indication message instructs the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point. Under the condition that user&#39;s normal communication is remained, the number of cell antennas or the cell bandwidth is dynamically changed. This reduces the power consumption of the network device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/272,402, filed on Oct. 13, 2011, which is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2010/071724, filed on Apr. 13, 2010. The International Application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200910106642.9, filed on Apr. 13, 2009. The afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, device, and system for regulating power consumption.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The cost of telecommunication network operators includes two parts: the capital expenditure (CAPEX: Capital Expenditure) such as network devices, computers, and instruments; and daily operating expenditure (OPEX: Operating Expenditure). At present, the OPEX becomes an important part concerned by operators. For a mobile operator, the cost of the electricity energy consumption accounts for a huge part in the OPEX. Most electricity energy is consumed by the power amplifier of transmit signals. In a LTE (long term evolution) system, the downstream reference signals are necessary for downstream data receiving. Even though there is no data to be sent, the base station needs to regularly transmit downstream reference signals. The factors affecting the transmit power of downstream reference signals are the number of downstream reference signals and the power spectrum density (PSD) of downstream reference signals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, device, and system for regulating power consumption. The technical solution is as follows:

A method for regulating power consumption includes: obtaining, by a base station, an application point and a configuration parameter; sending, by the base station, an indication message to a terminal according to the application point and configuration parameter; and using, by the base station, the configuration parameter at the application point. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or cell system bandwidth information, and the indication message instructs the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

A base station includes: an information obtaining unit, configured to obtain application point and configuration parameter; a sending unit, configured to send an indication message to a terminal according to the application point and configuration parameter obtained by the information obtaining unit; and an executing unit, configured to regulate the power consumption of the base station by using the configuration parameter at the application point according to the application point and configuration parameter obtained by the information obtaining unit. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or system bandwidth information, and the indication message instructs the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

A method for regulating power consumption includes: receiving, by a terminal, an indication message from a base station and obtaining information about application point and configuration parameter; and using, by the terminal, the configuration parameter at the application point according to the application point information. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or cell system bandwidth information; and the indication message is configured to instruct the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point, and the base station is configured to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

A system for regulating power consumption includes a base station, configured to implement all functions of the base station in the preceding method for regulating power consumption.

The base station according to the embodiments of the present invention sends an indication message to the terminal so that the base station and terminal use the configuration parameter including a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of system bandwidth. Therefore, with the technical solution provided in the present invention, under the condition of maintaining user normal communication, the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth are dynamically changed so that the number of downstream reference signals is dynamically adjusted. This reduces the power consumption of the base station and accordingly cuts down the telecommunication carrier's daily OPEX.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for regulating power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of another method for regulating power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic unit of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic unit of another base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic unit of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a system for regulating power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

According to embodiments of the present invention, when cell antenna information or system bandwidth changes, a base station obtains application point and configuration parameter, sends an indication message to a terminal according to the application point and configuration parameter, and the base station uses the configuration parameter at the application point. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or system bandwidth information; and the indication message instructs the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

According to embodiments of the present invention, through setting effective time (that is, an application point), the terminal and the base station use, at the same time, the configuration parameter including the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of system bandwidth at the application point, so that user communication remains normal when the number of cell antennas or system bandwidth is changed. Further, the base station initiates a process for changing the number of cell antennas and the system bandwidth, which reduces the number of downstream reference signals, and therefore the power consumption of the base station is reduced.

The following makes further description with embodiments and accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for regulating power consumption. The method includes the following:

110: A base station obtains application point and configuration parameter.

In this embodiment, the base station obtains application point and configuration parameter when initiating a process for changing the number information of cell antennas information or system bandwidth information. According to a detected fault, the base station determines that the number of cell antennas information or the system bandwidth information changes, and then initiates a process for changing the number of cell antennas information or the system bandwidth information. The base station also initiates, according to a trigger factor, a process for changing the number of cell antennas information or the system bandwidth information.

When detecting a fault on radio frequency (RF) channels and a fault causing the change of the number of cell antennas and the change of the system bandwidth, the base station initiates a process for changing the number of cell antennas information or system bandwidth information according to the detected fault.

A trigger factor triggering the process for changing the number of cell antennas or system bandwidth that is initiated by the base station includes at least one of: cell load, a selected time point, and traffic. The following section uses examples to describe the above-mentioned trigger factors.

When the trigger factor is the cell load, the network side determines, according to the current cell load, whether the system bandwidth or the number of antennas needs to be dynamically changed. If the current cell load is smaller than or equal to the threshold of the cell load, the system bandwidth or the number of cell antennas may be reduced. If the current cell load is larger than or equal to the threshold of the cell load, the system bandwidth or the number of cell antennas needs to be increased.

When the trigger factor is the selected time point, the network side initiates the reduction or restoration of the system bandwidth or the number of antennas according to the selected time point. The time point may be a time on every day, and/or some day.

When the trigger factor is the traffic, the network side determines, according to the traffic, whether to reduce or restore the system bandwidth or the number of antennas. If the traffic is smaller than a preset threshold, the system bandwidth or the number of cell antennas may be reduced. If the traffic is larger than a preset threshold, the system bandwidth or the number of antennas needs to be increased within an upper limit of the system bandwidth or the number of antennas.

It should be noted that these trigger factors are described for illustration only and are not intended to limit the trigger factors in embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications or equivalent replacements can be made to the trigger factors according to the embodiments of the present invention. Such modifications and equivalent replacements fall into the protection scope of the invention.

Because the content included in the trigger factors of the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of the system bandwidth that are initiated by the base station is described in the embodiment, the trigger factors are not described again in the following embodiment involving trigger factors. For specific trigger factors, refer to the description in the embodiment.

The application point indicate the configuration parameter used at a starting point of a modification period (modification period) of a system message or used by a system frame number (System Frame Number, SFN) of other SFNs except the starting point of the modification period of a system message. The configuration parameter include:

-   -   (1) Information about the number of cell antennas or the system         bandwidth to be changed     -   (2) Indication information indicating the change of the number         of cell antennas or the change of the system bandwidth.

It should be noted that, in the configuration parameter, the information about the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth to be changed configuration parameter, and the indication information indicating either the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of the system bandwidth, may not be included in the indication message sent by the base station and may not be preset on the base station and terminal either. The terminal obtains, by detecting and reading system broadcast messages, the information about the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth to be changed.

The configuration parameter may further include the following:

-   -   1) Information about a transmission mode after the number of         cell antennas is changed. In the LTE system, when the number of         cell antennas is changed, the transmission mode needs to be         changed. The relationship between the number of cell antennas         and the transmission mode is shown in Table 1. It should be         noted that the information about a transmission mode         configuration parameter after the number of cell antennas,         included in the configuration parameter, is changed can be         preset on the base station and terminal.

TABLE 1 Efficient Transmission antenna mode Description configuration 1 Single antenna (port 0) 1, 2, 4 2 Transmit diversity 2, 4 3 Open loop space division 2, 4 multiplexing (SDM) 4 close loop SDM 2, 4 5 Multiple user MIMO 2, 4 6 Close loop rank = 1 pre-coding 2, 4 7 Single antenna, port 5 1, 2, 4 (beamforming)

-   -   2) Corresponding system information, for example, MIB(management         information block), SIB 1 (system information block 1), and SIB         2 (system information block 2).

This embodiment describes the content of the configuration parameter. When the following embodiment involves the configuration parameter, no detailed description is provided. The content of the configuration parameter can be referred to in this embodiment.

120: The base station sends an indication message to a terminal according to the application point and configuration parameter.

The application point and configuration parameter can be included in the indication message sent by the base station, and are sent to the terminal through the indication message.

The indication message can be a paging message, or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message (Radio Resource Control Connection Reconfiguration message), or a newly-added message. The indication message indicates a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of system bandwidth. The terminal obtains the application point and configuration parameter according to the instruction in the indication message and uses the configuration parameter at the application point.

130: The base station uses the configuration parameter at the application point.

The base station uses the configuration parameter at the application point, and performs the operation of the change of the system bandwidth or the change of the number of cell antennas. At the time, the terminal should also use the configuration parameter at the application point, and perform the operation of the change of the system bandwidth or the change of the number of cell antennas.

With the method for regulating power consumption provided in this embodiment, the base station initiates, according to the detected faults or the trigger factors, a process for changing the number of cell antennas and cell system bandwidth, sends the indication message to the terminal so that the terminal and base station use the configuration parameter including the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of system bandwidth at the same time at the application point. Therefore, under the condition that user's normal communication may be remained, the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is dynamically changed so that the number of downstream reference signals is dynamically adjusted. This reduces the power consumption of the base station. As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides another method for regulating power consumption. According to the method, a base station initiates a process for changing the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth, and the terminal and base station use configuration parameter at configuration points. The embodiment describes the method for regulating power consumption using an idle terminal and a connected terminal as examples. The method includes the following:

310: A base station triggers changing of the number of cell transmit antennas or system bandwidth according to trigger factors.

320: The base station obtains application point and configuration parameter.

In the case of an idle terminal:

The applications point is the starting point of the modification period of the system message or other system SFNs except the starting point of the modification period of the system message after the first modification period of a system message.

The application point and configuration parameter can be included in the indication message sent by the base station, and are sent to the terminal through the indication message. Optionally, the terminal may obtain application point information by detecting and/or reading system broadcast messages sent by the base station.

In the case of a connected terminal:

The application point and configuration parameter may be included in the indication message. The application point is starting point of modification periods of a system message or other SFNs except the starting point of the modification periods of a system message.

The configuration parameter include the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth to be changed and indication information indicating either a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth.

In addition, the configuration parameter also includes system information affecting connection status of the terminal, and information about a transmission mode after the number of cell antennas is changed.

325: The base station sends an indication message to the terminal according to the obtained application point and configuration parameter.

In the case of an idle terminal:

The base station sends an indication message to the terminal within a first modification period of a system message to notify the terminal that the system bandwidth or the number of cell antennas is to be changed.

The indication message is a paging message indicating a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth, or a paging message including change information about the system broadcast messages.

In the case of a connected terminal:

The base station sends an indication message to the terminal before the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of the system bandwidth.

The indication message may be either a newly-added message or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message.

330: The terminal receives the indication message sent by the base station.

340: Corresponding to the indication message, the terminal obtains the application point and configuration parameter.

In the case of an idle terminal:

When receiving the indication message, the terminal learns that the system bandwidth or the number of cell antennas is to be changed. At the starting point of modification periods of a system message (the starting point of a next modification period of a system message), the base station sends a new system broadcast message, and the terminal reads the message, detects the message, and obtains the configuration parameter including the number of cell antennas and the system bandwidth to be changed. In such a case, the configuration parameter include the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth to be changed and indication information indicating either a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth, and may further include the information about a transmission mode and system information affecting connection status of the terminal after the number of cell antennas is changed.

In the case of a connected terminal:

If the indication message includes application point and configuration parameter, the terminal can obtain the application point and configuration parameter from the indication message.

350: The terminal and base station use the configuration parameter at the application point.

In the case of an idle terminal:

The terminal and base station change the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth at the application point according to the information about the configuration parameter. The application point may be the starting point of a second modification period of a system message; the second modification period of a system message may be the next modification period of a first system message following the first modification period of a system message, or any next modification period after the first modification period of a system message. The application point may also be an SFN that is specified in the configuration parameter and follows the first modification period of a system message.

In the case of a connected terminal:

The terminal and base station change the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth at the application point according to the information about the configuration parameter.

With the method for regulating power consumption provided in this embodiment, the base station initiates the process for changing the number of cell antennas and cell system bandwidth, sends the indication message to the idle terminal so that the terminal and base station use the configuration parameter including the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of system bandwidth at the application point. Therefore, the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is dynamically changed so that the number of downstream reference signals is dynamically adjusted. This reduces the power consumption of the base station.

Further, with the method for regulating power consumption provided in this embodiment, the idle terminal learns, according to the instruction in the received indication message, that the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is to be changed, and uses the configuration parameter including the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of system bandwidth at the application point and base station. This ensures the normal communication service between the base station and terminal when the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is changed.

Furthermore, with the method for regulating power consumption provided in this embodiment, the connected terminal learns, according to the instruction in the received indication message, that the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is to be changed, and uses the configuration parameter including the change of the number of cell antennas or the change of system bandwidth at the application point and base station. This ensures the continuity of the communication service between the base station and terminal when the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth is changed.

Furthermore, with the method for regulating power consumption provided in this embodiment, the indication message sent by the base station may include the configuration parameter which is needed for changing the number of cell antennas or the system bandwidth. Some information in the configuration parameter is optional, such as system information MIB, SIB1, and SIB2. The connection status of the terminal may be affected by system information such as MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 2. If the configuration parameter of the connected terminal sent by the base station include the system information MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 2, the connected terminal does not need to read the system information MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 2, so that the interruption time of the terminal service can be reduced. Optionally, if the configuration parameter includes no system information MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 2, the connected terminal needs to read the system information MIB, SIB 1, and SIB 2, which may cause a short, for example, 200 ms, service interruption for the connected terminal, which is tolerable.

As shown in FIG. 3, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station 600, including:

-   -   an information obtaining unit 615, configured to obtain         application point and configuration parameter;     -   a sending unit 610, configured to send an indication message to         a terminal according to the application point and configuration         parameter obtained by the message obtaining unit 615; and     -   an executing unit 620, configured to regulate power consumption         of the base station by using the configuration parameter at the         application point according to the application point and         configuration parameter that are obtained by the information         obtaining unit 615.

The configuration parameter includes the information about the number of cell antennas and the system bandwidth. The indication message instructs the terminal to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the base station 600 further includes:

-   -   a triggering unit 700, configured to trigger the obtaining unit         615 to obtain the application point and configuration parameter         according to a trigger factor;

The trigger factor may be one of cell load, a selected time point, and traffic.

In this embodiment, the application point are starting point of modification periods of a system message or other SFNs except the starting point of the modification periods of a system message.

Further, the indication message is a paging message indicating a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth, or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message.

Further, the indication message includes the application point and configuration parameter.

Further, the configuration parameter includes the indication information indicating a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth. The configuration parameter may further include system information affecting connection status of the terminal, and information about a transmission mode after the number of cell antennas is changed.

Further, the application point is the time points preset on the base station; the configuration parameter is cell antenna information or system bandwidth information preset on the base station.

As shown in FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal 820, including: a receiving unit 822, an information obtaining unit 824, and an executing unit 826.

The receiving unit 822 is configured to receive an indication message; the information obtaining unit 824 is configured to obtain application point information and configuration parameter information corresponding to the indication message received by the receiving unit 822; the executing unit 826 is configured to use the configuration parameter at the application point obtained by the information obtaining unit 824. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or system bandwidth information. The indication message is used to instruct the terminal 820 to use the configuration parameter at the application point. The base station is configured to use the configuration parameter at the application point corresponding to the application point information.

Further, the application point is starting point of modification periods of a system message or other SFNs except the starting point of the modification periods of a system message.

Further, the indication message is a paging message indicating a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth, or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message.

The configuration parameter includes the indication information indicating either a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth.

Further, the configuration parameter further include system information affecting connection status of the terminal, and information about a transmission mode after the number of cell antennas is changed

As shown in FIG. 6, an embodiment of the present invention a system 900 for regulating power consumption, including a base station 910.

The base station 910 is configured to obtain application point and configuration parameter, and sends an indication message to the terminal 920 according to the application point and configuration parameter. The terminal 920 is configured to obtain the application point and configuration parameter according to the received indication message. The configuration parameter includes cell antenna information or system bandwidth information, and the indication message instructs the terminal 920 to use the configuration parameter at the application point.

Further, the system 900 may also include: a terminal 920.

Further, the base station 910 in the system 900 regulating for the power consumption according to this embodiment is further configured to:

-   -   obtain the application point and configuration parameter         according to a trigger factor.

The trigger factor includes one of cell load, a selected time point, and traffic.

Further, in this embodiment, the application point are starting point of modification periods of a system message or other SFNs except the starting point of the modification periods of a system message.

Further, the indication message is a paging message indicating a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth; or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message.

Further, the indication message includes the application point and configuration parameter.

Further, the configuration parameter includes the indication information indicating either a change of the number of cell antennas or a change of the system bandwidth. The configuration parameter may further include system information, and information about a transmission mode after the number of cell antennas is changed.

Further, the application point are the preset time points on the base station 910 and the terminal 920; the configuration parameter are the preset cell antenna information or system bandwidth information at the base station 910 and the terminal 920.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a base station may be a macro-cell base station, micro-cell base station, home NodeB (HomeNB) or evolved Node B (eNB).

It is understandable to those skilled in the art that all or part steps of the preceding methods can be implemented by hardware following instructions of programs. The programs may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The storage medium may be a read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or a compact disk.

In conclusion, the above are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Variations or replacements readily apparent to persons skilled in the prior art within the technical scope of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is subjected to the appended claims. 

1. A base station, comprising: a receiver configured to obtain an application point and changed number of cell antennas to be applied at the application point, the application point being a moment of a modification period of a system message; a transmitter configured to send a terminal an indication for the terminal to acquire the application point wherein the application point is used for the terminal to detect the changed number of the cell antennas and apply the changed number of the cell antennas at the moment of the modification period of the system message; and a processor configured to apply the changed number of the cell antennas at the moment of the modification period of the system message which is a same moment for the terminal to apply the changed number of the cell antennas.
 2. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to send the terminal a transmission mode associated with the changed number of the cell antennas.
 3. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to preset a transmission mode associated with the changed number of the cell antennas for the terminal.
 4. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to instruct the terminal to change currently-applying number of the cell antennas into the changed number of the cell antennas detected by the terminal.
 5. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to trigger the receiver to obtain the application pint and the changed number of cell antennas in accordance with a trigger factor, wherein the trigger factor comprises one or more of: cell load, a selected time point, or traffic.
 6. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is further configured to obtain the application point and the changed number of cell antennas through a paging message or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message.
 7. A terminal, comprising: a receiver configured to obtain an application point instructed by a base station, the application point being a moment of a modification period of a system message for both of the terminal and the base station to apply changed number of the cell antennas; a processor configured to detect the changed number of the cell antennas in accordance with the application point and apply the changed number of the cell antennas at the moment of the modification period of the system message which is a same moment for the base station to apply the changed number of the cell antennas.
 8. The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the base station a transmission mode associated with the changed number of the cell antennas.
 9. The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the receiver is further configured to acquire a transmission mode associated with the changed number of the cell antennas preset by the base station.
 10. The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive an instruction from the base station to change currently-applying number of the cell antennas into the changed number of the cell antennas.
 11. The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the receiver is further configured to obtain the application point instructed by paging message or a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message. 